London Marathon 2023 predictions and running betting tips: Kipruto and Ayana could rule streets of capital

Where to watch the 2023 London Marathon

BBC One, from 9.25am Sunday

Best bets

Amos Kipruto to win men's London Marathon
2pts 13-4 bet365

Almaz Ayana to win women's London Marathon
1pt each-way 8-1 bet365

London Marathon predictions

For the first time since 2019 the London Marathon is back in its traditional April slot this year with more than 45,000 runners, all with their own goals and reasons, pounding the streets of the capital on Sunday.

In many ways the elite races are secondary to the inspiring stories of the masses, but for the professionals winning in London is an extremely big deal as one of five World Marathon Majors in the calendar.

This year's race will mark the final appearance of British distance running great Mo Farah at the marathon distance. Farah, 40, has finished eighth, third and fifth on his previous three efforts and is 50-1 to go out on top.

Another 40-year-old lining up is Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele. One of the greatest track distance runners of all-time, Bekele clocked the second-fastest marathon time in history in Berlin in 2019. 

Bekele finished fifth in last year's marathon, which was held only six months ago, and he could be again vulnerable to younger legs.

Kenyan Amos Kipruto finished first on The Mall in October and he looks a solid option to retain his title. He has never finished outside of the first three in his four attempts at one of the five Marathon Majors and won by a healthy margin in London last year.

However, the oddsmakers slightly prefer the chances of Kipruto's 23-year-old compatriot Kelvin Kiptum, who became only the third man in history to break 2hrs 2mins on his marathon debut in Valencia last year.

Kiptum could conceivably be the man to take over Eliud Kipchoge's mantle as the best marathon runner around but he has never raced against such a deep field.

The women's race could be just as intriguing with arguably the best field in the event's history set to start in Greenwich headed by defending champion Yalemzerf Yehualaw, world record holder Brigid Kosgei and Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir. The marathon debut of Olympic 10,000m and 5,000m champion Sifan Hassan adds further intrigue. 

In all, ten of the field have gone under 2:19 including Ethiopian Almaz Ayana, who clocked 2:17:20 when winning October's Amsterdam Marathon on her first attempt at the distance.

That's the seventh-best time of all time for a woman and there could be more to come from the 2016 Olympic 10,000m champion, who clocked just over 65 minutes as she won the Lisbon half-marathon six weeks ago.

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